Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has earned universal high praise for his work since taking over for legend Ozzie Newsome who runs the Baltimore roster. For good reason.
His movements are usually no less than expert, taken as a whole, and, individually, too, it is difficult to nibble on his signatures and trades and concept picks … with one exception. A high-price exception who never really sat in the pass, who greeted himself not only off field (and barely on field) and whose departure this weekend – after only one season – was in the midst of scandal and controversy the conversation was of the NFL.
Everyone makes mistakes, and this was a big miss.
Kudos to DeCosta, at the urging of his players and coaching staff, for passing on safety to Earl Thomas, the apparent award winner of Batimore’s 2019 free agent class, whose attitude, abrasiveness, tardiness and churlishness came last week during a practice session a punch on mild-mannered and universally beloved co-starting safety Chuck Clark. Hawar, this has been boiling for a while, according to numerous sources with immediate knowledge of the situation, with the frustration with Thomas after last year.
Then, many to take Thomas with him, we will say, who are not very willing to practice meetings or miss or do what he wanted to do on a day-to-day basis instead of sticking to the schedule or game call. After all, this was a future Hall of Famer, which is the closest thing we ‘ve seen Ed Reed during his illustrious career in Seattle. And this franchise is not cut off from taking guys with troublesome personalities.
But this was different, the sources said. This was personal. There was a feeling on that defense that Thomas was not part of the group and did not shoot to really be part of the group. He had gained too much confidence to really accept more, and his teammates saw that his skills faded and misteps increased.
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A year ago, with the team (almost) winning every week and improving the defense when Clark once took over the duties and wore the chapter in his helmet to communicate the coach’s conversations, the Ravens were ready to join. Thomas to perform because of his track record and because he came from a significant injury. Maybe he would get better on the field and play himself in better shape and adapt to the group over time. Maybe he should clean up his act.
But it did not work, and things did not get better. His first few weeks back in the building this summer went for the most part, as they did a year ago, team sources said, and there was a mixed feeling among the club’s veterans that they would be better off without Thomas than with him. Supplementation by subtraction. Cap problems are damned.
“This has been a long time coming,” one team source said. “Men have been frustrated about this situation since last year and it only got worse. He had to leave.”
“Easily the most failed man in that locker room,” said one source who has been in contact with a crowd of Ravens about Thomas. “Not even close. She did a lot last year, but it’s all about trying to win a Super Bowl there now, and guys didn’t want him around. It was really a bad way of doing things with Chuck Clark.”
Indeed, several sources said that Ravens’ Leadership Council made it clear to management last week that they strongly believed the team would be better off without Thomas, as we first reported over the weekend. There was no debate who was to blame for the physical change with Clark, and the dichotomy between the universal support for Clark, and the player’s candid comments to coaches about Thomas’ will was lost on no one in that organization.
“The Council was pretty much unanimous that they would have been better off without Earl Thomas,” another source added.
Another team source put it this way: “If you do not prioritize things in the right way, the players do not appreciate it at all and neither do the coaches.”
That, at that point, the Ravens had no choice. Thomas had to go.
Veteran players spoke passionately in favor of young safety DeShon Elliott, whose career has been sidelined by an injury. They would continue to help coach him away with Thomas, and the unit would have better cohesion and chemistry.
“It’s his time, so let’s go,” coach John Harbaugh told Elliott’s reporters after Sunday’s practice, choosing not to comment on Thomas’ release (I think the statement speaks for itself) .
And the fact that veteran cornerback Jimmy Smith, who was increasingly looking for a hybrid role, showed in great shape, with the ball skills to work safely, also does not hurt. The secondary, even without Thomas, has the potential to be as good as anyone in football, yet.
Yes, there will be a messy grievance over Thomas’ salary, which makes Baltimore doubt that Thomas is standard by breaking language in his contract of conduct that is harmful to the team (as made clear in the team’s brief press release). that announced the move). Yes, it would further compromise their capability. Yes, it would be a quick admission of defeat over this signing. But it had to happen.
The moment Thomas was sent home from that practice, he was probably done as Raven. The emphatic support for cutting him in the locker room, and then Thomas posted practice video on his social media, cemented it further. An unpopular and highly paid player choosing over the collective (which consists of overwhelming guys who further overplayed their rookie deals), was impossible.
It remains to be seen how much of Thomas’ $ 20M signing bonus the team might return and how much of that $ 10M ‘guaranteed’ salary that Thomas actually receives. This movement always seemed a bit desperate; it was known around the league the Ravens were big on adding a safety with Eric Weddle near the end in 2019 and the pass defense a problem.
At the time, I believed Tyrann Mathieu was the best possible fit for them, and they were very interested but lost to the Chiefs for his services. Baltimore also dropped out of bidding on some top receivers when prices got too high for their liking, and although they had landed Mark Ingram to promote the run game, the reality last March was that they still had money to play with in a thin growth of influencers, declining options to meet their needs, and Thomas is still waiting for a partner.
The first wave of free agency hit the airwaves, and, not even Jerry Jones was ready to hit Thomas’ asking price on time, despite the player and that team flirting with each other for months (often in public). And while successive major injuries were a major problem and Seattle security antics even carried Pete Carroll, whose thresholds are quite high, Baltimore made a massive free agency, however, in DeCosta’s first offseasons.
Every time you go where Jones will not pass a player with some warts, it should probably give you a break. In hindsight, wooing Mathieu last year put Baltimore over the top in the way he helped Kansas City break his Lombardi hex. He was absolutely the right man – a shapeshifting, multi-faceted defender who fit perfectly with whatever coordinator Wink Martindale wants and younger, was more athletic and came cheaper than Thomas. He has been a perfect role model in KC
No one wins them all; not even DeCosta.
But to no longer continue their failed experiment with Thomas would have been foolish, and this staff can coach and move around players in ways that few can. The Ravens will be just fine. For all his star power and ability in the past, Thomas was nowhere near that man in Baltimore.
Buyer beware, again, of those who think the Ravens overreacted. Do the best all your homework on this. Bringing Thomas back to Texas, where his wife was arrested on a felony charge in connection with a domestic incident in the offseason, may not be the best decision for multiple reasons, and Thomas may not be the best man to be in a locker room bringing who has on his own no shortage of drama.
Thomas could not get his act in almost 18 months as Raven. I’m not sure that will change anywhere else. And trust me, they were not the problem.
